We Present on Combining Programming and Design Phases Effectively

Nycum's Noah Epstein presents with SmithGroupJJR's Mark Patterson on maximizing value by bringing project phases together that are often separated in institutional work.

This year’s International Union of Architects Public Health Group Forum will be held in Toronto as part of IIDEX. Noah and Mark will be presenting the outcomes of a recent project we were engaged in where the early stages of the planning and design were condensed. Here is the overview:

Hospital planning and programming can take years, often involving a number of incremental and much politicized steps. Common pitfalls may include an underestimation of the architectural impacts the programming and planning have on the project. This often includes the building site and without architectural visualization of concepts, awareness of the inputs users are making to the program may occur too late causing delays and inappropriate compromise. For a new 200 bed expansion, Capital Health (Halifax) and the Nova Scotia department of Health and Wellness recognized the pitfalls of this traditional “program first, then plan, then design” sequence and decided to combine them into a single 7 month fast-tracked, combined and simultaneous Programming/Planning/Schematic Design process. The result was a highly iterative and interactive approach that forced to the front of the room all major internal and external conflicts that the project needed to address.

For information on the International Union of Architects’ Public Health Group (UIA/PHG), click here.